6th Annual Alto and Bass Flute Retreat
July 29th - August 2nd, 2010

Join your fellow alto and bass flute players for workshops, reading sessions, small ensembles and masterclasses in scenic Boulder, Colorado. Classes will be held on the campus of the University of Colorado with million dollar views of the mountains. Information about Boulder can be found on ci.boulder.co.us. Thanks to Christina Jennings for allowing the use of the University facilities.

Deb Blue and Marty Melicharek having a good time on the porch at the 2009 Retreat in California

The Retreat begins with a relaxed evening of ensemble playing followed by a social hour. New this year will be a workshop on Articulation, three levels of Etude classes, three levels of Vibrato classes, an Alternate Fingerings class and a trip to a recording studio to make a CD.

Each class member will receive an individual assessment of their physical position playing their instrument. We might discover that it's how you have your instrument set up that's causing most of your problem.

In addition to the above topics, other workshops are; Intonation, Tone Develop-ment, Becoming a Better Ensemble Player, Air Management and Discovering New Repertoire. The repertoire classes will focus on learning a few select "best of the best" pieces as a group. Click on the workshop link at the top of the page for more information.

On Sunday afternoon, we will go to a recording studio and make a CD of one or two pieces of ensemble music which we will rehearse extensively at the class. It is a very laid back recording studio, the recording engineer hosts a bluegrass program on the local Public Radio Station and has named his recording business Audios Amigos.

There is free time every day for outdoor activities or other individual pursuits (napping!). We will have a class dinner at the Dushanbe Teahouse on Sunday evening. Go to www.boulderteahouse.com for more information about this gift from Dushanbe, Tajikistan, one of Boulder's Sister Cities.

On Monday the 2nd, there will be a optional moderate hike at 10,000 feet in the Caribou Ranch open space.

A few people will have chosen to play solos in a masterclass situation. All class members will be notified what pieces are being played so they can procure the music before hand to follow along. If you would like to play a solo, be sure to provide the names of the pieces you wish to play on the application page.